Secrets of Hogwarts 2: The Marauders Return
by AZScorpions24
Summary: My continuing saga of the pranks the new Marauders (Harry, Ron, and Hermione) play on unsuspecting enemies.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer? I don't need no stinkin' disclaimer. Anything you recognize isn't mine. Anything you don't recognize is. K?

  
Ok boys and girls…this is the sequel to Secrets of Hogwarts, the story I wrote recently about Harry using a gift his father left him to play pranks on everyone in school.  I can only hope you like it as much as the first one. Oh, and I intend to make many references to things along the way. It's just the way I am.

**Secrets of Hogwarts 2: The Marauders Return**

**by Scott Jewett**

            Harry Potter was on his way to cause some mischief.

Two years before, he had happened upon a gift that his parents left at Hogwarts for him. Using his newfound ability to communicate with an apparition of his father, he had discovered a way to travel all throughout the school. He and his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, had used the new knowledge exactly how his father had wanted him to: by playing pranks on the whole school. They had even become legends at Hogwarts after pulling a prank on Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster and possibly the most powerful wizard ever.

Things had fallen off a bit then. After that prank, Harry didn't know where to go. He, Ron, and Hermione had planned to keep pulling pranks, but they just didn't seem as important. They had instead worked on their Animagus training (the original Marauders were all Animagi, or wizards that could turn into animals…except for Lupin, who was a werewolf.). Thanks to Hermione's brilliance, the three had progressed quite fast. Even the apparition of Harry's father had to admit that they had mastered it quickly. 

Hermione had chosen the form of an owl, and the nickname "Feathers" (the Marauders referred to each other by these nicknames.) Her owl form was of course perfect, except that it had one of her defining characteristics: it had very bushy feathers, like her hair. Ron had decided to become a manticore: a magical creature the size of a horse, with the body of a lion, dragon's wings, and the tail of a scorpion. The face was human, but with three sets of teeth. This tended to stretch the face somewhat, so when Ron transformed, he didn't really look like himself. The lion's mane around his face, however, being bright red, sort of gave it away. His Marauder nickname was Lionheart

Harry had chosen to become a griffin: a creature with the body of a lion, but the head, wings, and front feet of an eagle. His Animagus form (nicknamed "Beaky") was also rather revealing: it had bright green eyes and a certain distinctive scar on its forehead. Nevertheless, the three enjoyed flying around at night, having even more adventures. The Forbidden Forest didn't seem so forbidding when you had lion's muscles and eagle's talons…and a friend who had a huge scorpion's tail. Soon, however, even the Forbidden Forest lost its edge to Harry. He needed some new adventure.

Two years after his original discovery,  Hogwarts supplied him with it. That was how he found himself where he was…in the secret Meeting Place that connected the common rooms of all four houses of Hogwarts (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin) on his way to Hufflepuff House. "That blasted O'Riley!" he muttered to himself.

Bobby O'Riley was a Hufflepuff second year. He seemed to have little to no magic powers, except incredible Quidditch skills. This had led Ron and Harry to call him "Gilderoy Lockhart Jr.", something Hermione didn't approve of (suggesting that her crush on Lockhart was still going strong), and "a teenage wasteland" **(A/N: I could probably get sued for that one)**. About the only thing he did better than play Quidditch was brag. He claimed that he was a better Quidditch player than Harry Potter himself. Never mind that he wasn't a Seeker, like Harry…or that Gryffindor continued to slaughter Hufflepuff every time they played each other.  Never mind that in Bobby's first game, he had gained possession of the Quaffle and scored on his own goal…or the fact that he hadn't been put on the team in his first year, like a certain well-known Hogwarts student. None of these facts would change Bobby's mind, no matter who showed them to him. Harry was almost convinced that Bobby had been dropped on his head as a baby.  Since he had no way to prove that, he decided to do the next best thing. He'd pull a prank on Bobby O'Riley.

Of course, he'd needed the help of his best friends and fellow Marauders. They always played a prank together…that was one of the rules of being a Marauder.  Besides, he'd needed Hermione's help to think of something to do to O'Riley.  And, of course, she'd come up with something perfect.

At the moment, however, she was looking at Harry in a rather surprised manner. "Goodness, Beaky. You certainly don't like Bobby, do you?"

Harry smiled and replied sarcastically, "Gee, Feathers, I don't know whatever gave you THAT idea…besides the fact that I've never referred to anyone as "blasted" in my life." Ron chuckled on Hermione's other side.

"Are we quite ready to go yet?" he asked the other two. Harry and Hermione nodded. Harry stepped forth and spoke the password.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The badger over the arch of the entrance to Hufflepuff House made…whatever sound it is that badgers make, and the Shield Charm over the entrance was lifted. The Marauder trio could see into the common room of the Hufflepuffs. Slowly, covering themselves with Harry's Invisibility Cloak, they walked into Hufflepuff House.

The common room of Hufflepuff House had a very down-to-earth feel, just like you would expect from a place full of dedicated workers. The furniture looked slightly worn and well used.  The walls were painted in yellow, and the thin carpeting was black. There were hardly any chairs around the fireplace (the only extravagance the trio could see…it was made of gold with black onyx trim).  Lamps of varying design decorated the tables. The room was also clean as a whistle…no doubt due to a very hardworking cleaning staff. Even the picture of Helga Hufflepuff, one of the founders of the school, looked like it had been recently wiped clean (although Harry was surprised each time he looked at the painting…it seemed to him that someone who prized hard work above all else wouldn't have been quite so plump.)

Hermione broke the silence. "Ok boys, wands out…just in case." The three of them pulled their wands out and headed for the staircases at the back of the room. 

"Wait a minute!" Harry exclaimed. "We're going to have to split up for this to work!" Ron seemed puzzled.

"What do you mean, Beaky?" Harry sighed. 

"Do I have to explain it to you again, Lionheart? I already have twice today!"

"And I was woken up from a sound sleep tonight, so yes, you will."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Ok, fine.  First, we're going to make Bobby O'Riley play Seeker in the next Quidditch match. Then-" Ron stopped him.

"How? The Imperius Curse is illegal!" Harry gritted his teeth. Hermione touched his arm gently.

"Shall I take it from here, Beaky?"

"If you would, Feathers."  Hermione nodded and turned to Ron.

"Lionheart, we're not going to get in trouble because we're not going to use the Imperius Curse.  There's another way to get people to do what you want them to do…and it's not magic either. I don't suppose you've heard of the Muggle practice of hypnosis?" Ron's face quite clearly showed that he hadn't. Hermione quickly explained how it worked while Harry listened for anyone that might be coming.

Ron was thoughtful after Hermione finished. "So, we're going to use hypnosis to make O'Riley want to be Seeker?" Hermione smiled and nodded, and Ron grinned.

"That's an excellent plan, Feathers! Oh, wait, no! The rest of the team won't agree to that!"  Harry turned to Ron.

"That's why we have to split up, Lionheart! Hermione taught me exactly how to hypnotize people while they're sleeping. I've got it down pat." Ron laughed. 

"Oh, suuuuure you do!" He kept chuckling until Harry said, "Platypus."

Out of nowhere, Ron clucked like a chicken, and loudly. Hermione started giggling madly. Ron's face turned as red as his hair.

            "Ok, your point's been made. Now what?"  Hermione spoke up.

            "First of all, we find every other member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and hypnotize them into believing that they want Bobby to be Seeker. Lionheart, you can help us now. While I was explaining how hypnosis worked to you, I charmed you so that you'd retain the information perfectly. You should be able to hypnotize people as well as Beaky and I can."  Ron thought about it and brightened.

            "You're right! I can! You're brilliant, Feathers!"

            Harry cut in at this point. "Ok, this is what we do. Lionheart, the other two Chasers are 5th year boys. You go up and take care of them. Feathers, the Keeper and Seeker are 5th year girls, and one of the Beaters is a 4th year girl. You go hypnotize them. I'll get the other Beater, the 3rd year, and…" He tried to keep the snarl out of his voice. "O'Riley."

            Ron and Hermione seemed mildly surprised at the anger in Harry's voice, but they didn't say anything. Hermione turned and went up the stairs to the girls' dorms, as Harry and Ron went up the other stairs towards the boys' dorms. They separated at the door marked "2nd year". 

            "Good luck, Beaky" Ron whispered as he kept going. Harry took a deep breath and pushed the door open slowly.

**(A/N: God I love cliffhangers. Next chapter will definitely have the Quidditch match…just as soon as the Marauders take care of one other thing. You'll find out what it is then. Read and review!)**


	2. Fun and Games not just Quidditch either

Usual disclaimer that I have stopped writing applies.

So. In chapter 1, we learn about how the new Marauders get back into pranking. This chapter will be taking that further…and let me tell you, I love the challenge I'm putting myself up against…writing out a Quidditch match!

Oh, and so you know…Harry missed two Sortings, and subsequently, I had to make up six names.  I considered making all the Hufflepuff Quidditch players 6th years like Harry or 3rd years that were sorted in GoF, so I'd have some names, but I thought that might be cheating. So, following my own example, I named the six remaining members of the Quidditch team after songs with people's names in them. You can figure them out for yourselves.

Now on with the show!

The Marauders Return 

**Chapter 2: Fun and Games**

            Harry stole silently into the well-kept dorm room.  He noticed that the walls and floor were colored the same as the common room. The beds were pretty basic…no long bedposts going up to the ceiling or anything. Five young men were asleep in the room. Harry went slowly and quietly from bed to bed until he found Bobby O'Riley.  He had to exert a great deal of self-control to keep from strangling the little snot where he slept.

            Ok, ok, he thought to himself. How did Feathers say to do this? Almost as if he had thought a spell, Hermione's voice floated into his mind.

            "Speak very slowly and evenly, about an inch from the subject's ear…this is the best way to reach the subconscious mind and implant suggestions there." (A/N: I don't really know if that's accurate or not.)

            Harry took a small breath and leaned close to Bobby's ear.

            "You want to play Seeker tomorrow against Gryffindor. You want to finally prove that you're better than Harry Potter at Quidditch." The bile rose in Harry's throat at that remark, but he kept it down.

            "You'll make the announcement to the team tomorrow at breakfast in the Great Hall." He kept repeating, slowly and evenly, for roughly fifteen minutes, until he was sure that O'Riley had the idea. He'd probably wake up wanting to play Seeker for England, Harry thought smiling. Bigheaded little twit. And I'm not even done yet…his eyes lit up as he remembered the rest of the prank.

            "Now, Bobby, I want you to remember this part carefully. Tomorrow during the Quidditch match, when you hear Harry Potter, and only Harry Potter, say the word "Firebolt", your mind will reverse your sense of direction. Left will become right, and vice versa.  Forward, backward, up and down will be the same though…we don't want you crashing to the ground, now, do we?" He could have sworn he had seen Bobby shake his head in his sleep. Harry shrugged and continued.

            "Ok now, remember…when Harry Potter says "Firebolt", you'll think in reverse. If you want to go to the left, you'll actually go right, and vice versa. Anything you see on your left side will seem to you to be on your right side. Anything on your right will seem to be on your left. This will continue until you hear Harry Potter say "Golden Snitch". That will return your sense of direction to normal." He kept repeating it until he was sure Bobby understood (and until he had it right…it sort of confused him too).

            Quickly and quietly, he slipped out the door and went up to the 3rd year boys' dorm. There he found the Beater, Adam Blinkone.  Exactly as he had done to Bobby (with a slight change in script: Adam was told to completely support Bobby's idea and wasn't given the same problem with direction), Harry implanted the posthypnotic suggestion.

            Fifteen minutes later, he was headed down the stairs to the Hufflepuff common room. Hermione was waiting there with a large smile on her face. Harry grinned.

            "How'd it go, Feathers?"

            Hermione smiled even wider, if possible. "It was so easy! That Seeker, Judith Circle? She went under in roughly two minutes! I may have done so well, she'll volunteer to switch positions with Bobby even before he says anything!"

            Harry chuckled quietly to himself. "What about the Keeper and Beater?"

            "Well, Angie wasn't too hard (Angie Stone played Keeper), but that Beater, Ana Silver? The captain? I almost thought she was awake a couple of times! Don't worry though. I got her under control."

            Just then, Ron came down the stairs. He greeted Harry and Hermione with a smile.

            "Mission accomplished! Stan Mathers and Jeremy Pearl (O'Riley's fellow Chasers) are on the bandwagon!"

            "Thank God" Harry sighed. "I wish this kind of thing didn't have to be a unanimous vote by all the players." 

            "Me too" Ron said. "Now, how about we get out of here?"

            "Good idea" Hermione said, leading them to the picture of the badger on the wall of the Hufflepuff common room. She raised her wand, revealing the familiar Marauders crest right between the badger's eyes.

            "_Prongius_" Hermione whispered. The picture flipped open, revealing the passage to the Meeting Place. The Marauders quickly went through to Gryffindor Tower, coming out behind the portrait of Godric Gryffindor and jumping down onto the floor of the common room. They snuck slowly upstairs to their respective dorms and quickly went to sleep.

(time jump)

            The Great Hall of Hogwarts bustled in the morning with its usual activity, with one small exception. About halfway through breakfast, Professor Sprout (head of Hufflepuff House) tapped her glass, calling for attention.

            "Students, the captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team has an announcement. Ana?" she said to the standing girl at the Hufflepuff table. Ana Silver cleared her throat.

            "We've just had a team meeting, and we've done a little…reorganizing of the team's positions.  In this afternoon's Quidditch match against Gryffindor, our Seeker, Judith Circle, will be switching positions with our Chaser, Bobby O'Riley!" There was almost instant uproar. Bobby jumped to his feet, smiling.

            "That's right, Hogwarts! I intend to prove once and for all that I am better than Harry Potter when it comes to Quidditch!"

            "Fat chance" the apparition of James Potter whispered over Harry's shoulder. The Marauders had decided before the prank was pulled to have their "teachers" (and partners in crime) present at breakfast to see what happened, so Harry had made the apparitions of the former Marauders (his father, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin…Peter Pettigrew was absent for obvious reasons) appear. They were presently laughing uproariously, heard only by the present Marauders…and Dumbledore, Harry saw from his seat. Twisting around, he saw a great deal of hushed conversation at all the tables…no doubt about whether or not O'Riley would live up to his claim.  Harry seriously doubted it for many reasons, but kept his mouth shut. No need to spill the secret and get in trouble, he thought to himself.

            Afternoon came almost too quickly for Harry. He found himself in the Gryffindor locker room with the rest of the team: Ron, who had taken over as Keeper and Captain in their fifth year, with the absence of Oliver Wood (the team had voted Harry to be captain, but he found out quickly that he wasn't the captain type, so the title went to Ron); Colin Creevey (replacing one of the Weasley twins as Beater this year), his brother Dennis (a new Chaser, thanks to the graduation of all three former Chasers), Ron's little sister Ginny, who was quite a surprise to the entire team when she displayed incredible Quidditch skills (also a new Chaser), 3rd year standout Natalie McDonald (the team's other Beater), and possibly the greatest surprise of all, Seamus Finnigan, who had taken up Quidditch shortly after watching Ireland win the World Cup two years before. He had proven to be quite a good Chaser, and so the last position was filled.

            Ron's speech went almost too quickly for Harry's liking.

            "I just want to say two things, team. One: Harry's going to whip the SNOT out of Bobby O'Riley!" This was greeted with a great deal of cheering. 

            "Secondly…I'm not going to get all long-winded on you about winning and strategy. Let's just do our best to keep the House Cup where it is, ok?" The Cup was currently in the Gryffindor section of the trophy case, where it had been since Harry's third year.  Everyone agreed that there was no good reason for it to be moved, and the entire team walked out of the locker room.  Soon enough, they were doing the traditional lap around the Quidditch pitch. Harry noticed that he could have done rings around every member of the Hufflepuff team (they were almost all on Nimbus Two Thousands; O'Riley had a Nimbus Two Thousand and One and Ana Silver had a Cleansweep Seven) and grinned at how easy this win would be. Ron met Angie Stone at the center of the pitch and shook hands with her. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and set the Bludgers and Golden Snitch free, and the game was on. 

            Harry was immediately airborne. He looked down long enough to see the Chasers pouncing on the Quaffle before he shot even further up. He could hear the commentator...Lee Jordan had of course graduated, and some annoying little Slytherin had gotten the job.  Harry didn't know the kid's name, but he could hear him all over the arena.

            "And they're off, Quidditch fans! Weasley has the Quaffle…to Finnigan…Creevey…Finnigan...Weasley dodges Stone….SCORE!!!!!" Just like that, Gryffindor was up ten points to zero. Harry just sat and watched, resting comfortably over the action below. He noticed that Stan Mathers and Jeremy Pearl were doing the bulk of the Chasing work for Hufflepuff…Judith Circle really didn't know what to do. She wasn't as good as passing and dodging as Bobby was, and as a result, was getting grazed by many a Bludger as they shot past. The Beaters, Adam and Ana, were doing all they could, but it just wasn't enough. Ron was too good a Keeper, and the weakness at Chaser was costing Hufflepuff.  Almost too easily, Gryffindor went from ten points ahead to fifty…then eighty…then a hundred and ten.

            "And now its Mathers…Pearl…pass to Circle is missed! Intercepted by Dennis Creevey…to Weasley…Finnigan…Ouch, he's hit by a Bludger! Circle's got the Quaffle…Oh, BAD pass to Pearl! Somehow, he recovers…shoots…WHAT A SAVE BY RON WEASLEY! Finnigan! Creevey! Weasley! Creevey again! He fakes out Stone and SCORES!" That made it a hundred and twenty. Meanwhile, Harry saw Bobby O'Riley coming up toward him. He had to swallow hard to keep the bile from rising in his throat as he greeted him. "Hello, Bobby."

            Bobby smiled. "Ah, Harry Potter! At last we meet on even footing…and at last everyone will know who's truly the better Quidditch player!" He smiled and started laughing out loud, throwing his head back…and revealing, Harry saw in shock, the Golden Snitch. It was hovering right behind Bobby's head! It could have been following him the whole time! 

            "I honestly never thought he was THAT thick" Harry muttered to himself. "I won't even need the hypnosis." His hand shot out over Bobby's head, nearly grazing his nose, and grabbed the Snitch tightly.

            Bobby's laughing was suddenly cut short by the screams and applause from the stands. He looked in shock at Harry, who simply smiled and waved the Snitch at him. Somewhere below them, the Slytherin announcer was yelling his head off.

            "Good Lord! Harry Potter catches the Snitch! Bobby O'Riley was close enough to swallow it and still couldn't find it! Gryffindor wins, three hundred and fifty to nothing!" (Ginny, Colin, and Seamus had combined for eight more goals in the time it took for Harry to make the grab.) "I don't think I've ever seen anything like it! That should shut Bobby O'Riley up for good!"

            Indeed, Bobby looked like he was going to cry. Over his shoulder, Harry could see six very angry forms in yellow uniforms coming toward them. A sudden, very, very mean (but fun) idea occurred to him.  He whispered to Bobby.

            "Firebolt. Run!" He pointed over Bobby's left shoulder. Bobby looked over his right shoulder and saw his angry teammates approaching. 

            "There's an opening to the left! Go!" Harry yelled. Bobby immediately took off…to his _right_. The hypnosis had worked very well. Almost too well, in fact. The only thing to the immediate right of Bobby was one of the posts that rose up from the stands of the arena. Bobby O' Riley ran headfirst into one of the posts with Hufflepuff's colors and arms on it, and fell rather sharply to the ground. 

            There was a collective gasp from the arena. All eyes were on the limp yellow form in the sand. Everyone watched as Bobby slowly got to his feet. He pulled out his wand, pointed it at his throat, and spoke something no one heard. Harry assumed it was "_Sonorus_", because Bobby's voice suddenly rang out through the arena.

            "Okay! I admit it! I'm not as good as Harry Potter! He's the best Quidditch player here!" 

            There was a loud burst of laughter at that, and Bobby started sobbing, forgetting to undo the spell. His crying echoed throughout the entire arena. Harry decided that he had better do something nice (and undo the hypnosis at the same time). He flew to the ground, landing a short distance from Bobby (and covering his ears).

            "BOBBY! HEY! UNDO THE CHARM!" he yelled.  Bobby didn't hear a thing. Harry groaned inwardly and pulled out his wand, pointing it at Bobby.

            "_Quietus_!" he said. Bobby's crying went back to a normal level. He looked to his left (right at Harry in fact, but thanks to the hypnosis, he couldn't see him), then to his right, where he saw Harry.

            "What are YOU doing here! Come to make fun of me some more, I suppose!" Harry considered it for a few seconds, but thought better of it.

            "No, Bobby. It's not your fault you didn't catch the Golden Snitch." He noticed Bobby's head twitch slightly as the trigger words were spoken, effectively removing the former hypnotic suggestions. He continued on as if nothing had happened.  
  


            "It's just that you're not trained as a Seeker. You're an excellent Chaser. You work so well with Stan and Jeremy, it's almost like you read each other's thoughts." He just stood there and looked at Bobby as he wiped his eyes and smiled.

            "I suppose you're right, Harry…and there's no nothing wrong with being the second best Quidditch player at Hogwarts, is there?"

            Harry smiled. "Not a thing. Let's get out of here, huh? Say, before your teammates stop arguing over whether or not they're going to come after you." He pointed up, where the rest of the Hufflepuff team was in hot debate over whether to comfort Bobby after his collision, or kill him for being so stupid.  Bobby nodded and mounted his broom, shooting off toward the school. Harry watched as his teammates immediately followed him, then turned and walked off the pitch. Ron came flying down beside him. 

            "So, Beaky, what happened?"  
  
            "Nothing much. We just had a little talk. He's not so bad, I guess." Ron thought this over and nodded.

            "Ok…so I take it you're friends now?" Harry looked up as if to reply, and saw Bobby leading his teammates on a chase around the castle. Even from his vantage point, Harry could see the gestures he was making to egg them on. He smiled and turned back to Ron.

            "Nope. He's still a twit."

  
  


(A/N: And there's chapter 2. I have no idea where to go from here. SOMEONE HELP! Two chapters does not a story make. All suggestions are welcome! Oh, and by the way, if you don't know where the names of Hufflepuff's Quidditch team came from:

Chasers: Stan Mathers (Eminem, "Stan"), Jeremy Pearl (Pearl Jam, "Jeremy"), and Bobby O'Riley (The Who, "Teenage Wasteland…also known as Baba O'Riley)

Beaters: Adam Blinkone (Blink 182, "Adam's Song) and Ana Silver (Silverchair, "Ana's Song")

Keeper: Angie Stone (Rolling Stones, "Angie")

Seeker: Judith Circle (A Perfect Circle, "Judith")

Oh, and by the way, I don't care that Hufflepuff's 3rd year Beater would have come from the Sorting in GoF. If I had used a name from there, it wouldn't have fit my plan.

Read and Review please!)


	3. Adventures in Hogsmeade

I've got to say…not getting any reviews for my last chapter made me very sad. However, I'm pushing through my grief and getting right back into the story. This is going to be a little diversion from all the pranks. I certainly hope you enjoy it!

**Secrets of Hogwarts 2**

**Chapter 3: Adventures in Hogsmeade**

Harry enjoyed the Quidditch match immensely: both because of the huge lead Gryffindor gained in the House Championship and Quidditch standings and the way Bobby O'Riley made a huge ass of himself by blowing a match so easily and flying straight into a post. It was, in his own words, a "Patronus-producing" experience.

            The novelty soon wore off, though. He needed another adventure, and soon. Consulting his fellow mischief-makers produced nothing.  Ron suggested possibly recruiting more Marauders, but Harry and Hermione argued that the three of them barely fit under the Invisibility Cloak…and besides, more Marauders wasn't going to help if they had no pranks to play.

            Hermione, oddly enough, had no good ideas. "I've got plenty of crazy ideas, but those aren't what we need right now" she informed Harry and Ron. They wholeheartedly agreed after she informed them that one of her ideas was to find Voldemort and pull a prank on him. Ron went so far as to suggest that Hermione had lost her mind; she threatened to make him really lose his mind with a quick Memory Charm, and he shut up.

            The Marauders were resigned to the unthinkable: no pranks at all. Having become accustomed to prank playing, it was quite a shock on their systems.  Harry and Ron felt that it was torture…so many innocent first and second years walking around, just begging to be stripped of their dignity by some amazing prank…

            It was at one of these moments that Ron had a pretty good idea.

            "Oi, Beaky. What say we sneak into Hogsmeade and check out my brothers' new supplies?" (The Weasley twins, thanks to Harry's generosity, had finally set up Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, a small joke shop in a side street of Hogsmeade.) Harry considered for a second.

            "Do you think it will help, Lionheart?"

            "Well, it certainly can't hurt…" And with that, the plan was on.  The next day (which was by coincidence a Saturday) the Marauders met in the common room. They waited until they were the only ones there before Harry pulled out his Invisibility Cloak. Quickly draping it over themselves, the Marauders exited the common room (the Fat Lady was rather surprised at having to open for no one) and went up to the sixth floor.

            "Hey, wait a minute!" Ron protested. "We didn't decide which passage to use! There are three on this floor alone!"  Hermione turned to Harry.

            "He's right, Beaky…where are we going?"

            "I was thinking of the passage concealed in the statue of Caldroc the Conqueror…remember, the one who created the potion for super strength? It'll bring us out right by the Three Broomsticks. That's the closest one I can think of to Fred and George's shop." The other two agreed, and the Marauders strode up to the statue confidently. Harry tapped the figure's sword lightly and whispered, "_Dessicato_!" The sword arm turned, seeming to cut a large hole in the wall…but it was actually the secret passage. The Marauders scrambled through the passage, finally removing the cloak and walking.

            No matter how many times Harry took this passage, he was always surprised by the sudden change in location: from dark, sort of slimy tunnel to semi-bright alleyway behind the Three Broomsticks. Of course, it could have been the fact that you ended up in the alleyway by falling about two feet from the end of the passage from Hogwarts. As usual, the threesome landed awkwardly and got up, brushing themselves and muttering.

            "Stupid rotten passageway" Ron grumbled to himself. 

            "Lionheart! Language!" Hermione admonished him. Ron just glared at her.

            "Clam up, Feathers." Harry, who sensed an argument on the horizon, quickly cut in.

            "Shall we go?" Ron and Hermione glared daggers at each other for a couple of seconds before agreeing. The threesome carefully left the alleyway and ducked around the corner of the Three Broomsticks, darting quickly past the front door and going around the far corner, down Moonstone Avenue, where Weasley's Wizard Wheezes stood.

            Harry was always glad to see Fred and George's shop. They had had it painted in Gryffindor colors, which was a nice contrast to all the gray buildings around it. It wasn't uncommon to see smoke billowing from windows on the second floor, where the twins had set up a laboratory for creating and testing new items.  And the odd explosion, just like at the Burrow, was also common. The Marauders crossed the street quickly and entered the store.

            The inside of the store was pretty quiet, considering the circumstances.  The fake wands the twins had started on in their sixth year were arranged on the far wall. In front of the counter where the cash register was, assorted flavors of trick candies were placed. Some of the items that Zonko's sold were there (Dungbombs, Stink Pellets, Nose-Biting Teacups), but the twins had filled up the rest with their own creations: Trick Galleons (guaranteed to look like Galleons until used in a shop; they turned to dust soon after), Coloring Quills (they turned the user's hand random colors), Uglifying Cream (applying it to someone's face was guaranteed to produce warts and pimples galore, and on rare occasions cause the nose and ears to swell up), and other items that the entire population of Hogwarts had become well acquainted with over the past two years, thanks to the Marauders. Of course, they looked at it as promoting the store's inventory. George, who was running the register, looked up as they entered.

            "Well, if it isn't our best customers!" he said smiling. "Shouldn't you be in school?" 

            "Yeah, we should" Ron retorted. "What's your point?" George nodded.

            "Ok, young mischief makers…what can the esteemed Weasley twins do for you?"

            "We just came by to see if you have anything new" Harry said. George frowned; a rarity for him.

            "Nothing in a while, Harry. All our experiments and tests have gone wrong lately. Fred suspects Zonko's, but I'm not so paranoid…" He trailed off. "Do you guys hear that?"

            The Marauders listened closely. There was a loud screeching sound from far off, accompanied by what sounded like very heavy footsteps (which were beginning to rattle the shop's items).  They could also hear people running outside, and-

            CRASH! The Marauders and George instinctively ducked at the sound. 

            "What was that?" Harry yelled over the bedlam that ensued from outside.

            "Let's go look!" Ron screamed. The four of them ran out the front door of the shop and almost froze in horror.

            There were dragons in the sky. At least ten of them: two Norwegian Ridgebacks, two Swedish Short-Snouts, a Hungarian Horntail, a Chinese Fireball, a Common Welsh Green, and three that Harry couldn't identify. He asked Hermione what they were.

            "The two blue ones are Transylvanian Blood-Sucking Blues…and the other one's an American type! A Rhode Island Rockcrusher! How did it get all the way here?" she mused.

            "Who cares, Feathers! They're destroying the place!" Ron screamed and pointed. The dragons were flying low over the village, burning all the buildings with their large jets of fire. And the villagers weren't working very hard to stop them, because of the other threats.

            "Goblins and ogres?" George asked. "I wouldn't have thought their kinds would work together, and neither of them are friends with dragons." 

            "Who is?" Harry quipped. "Good point" George said. "I'm going back to the shop to protect it. You three get back to Hogwarts!" He dashed into his shop. The Marauders ran into the back alley behind the Three Broomsticks.

            "Are we agreed that we're going to stay and fight?" Harry asked. Ron and Hermione nodded.

            "Ok, good. Feathers, transform and fly to Hogwarts. Get to Dumbledore and tell him what's going on.  Lionheart and I will stay here and fight." Hermione nodded and became an owl in an instant. She flew off as Ron and Harry started planning.

            "Ok Lionheart. What we have to do first is take on the ogres. If we can beat them, we can get all of them…weight for weight, an ogre is more powerful than a dragon. We'll need to be a little more powerful, of course…" In the blink of an eye, the alley seemed to shrink as a griffin and manticore replaced Harry and Ron.

            "How glad are you that Hermione found that Telepathy Charm just after we perfected our Animagi forms?" Ron asked. "Very" Harry replied. "Now let's go protect the village!" He shot into the sky as Ron ran out of the alley and around the corner to Main Street, facing the ground threat head on.

            Harry dipped and dodged, swerving and turning as the dragons centered on him instead of Hogsmeade. "Lionheart, I may need some help here" he sent to Ron. "Griffins are just as tough as dragons and ogres, but that's weight for weight…not weight for weight of ten opponents!"

            "What about the ogres?" Ron replied, launching himself straight up in the air as roughly twenty goblins charged him; subsequently, they ran into each other and knocked themselves out cold.

            "I would gladly be fighting the ogres, if I could get to them! The dragons are a little bit more of a threat than you'd think from the ground.  I've got an idea, Lionheart. Tell the villagers that we'll take care of the dragons, as long as they fight the goblins and ogres. It shouldn't be too hard for them…ogres and goblins are easier to take down with magic." Ron nodded his triple-jawed human head and started broadcasting his thoughts to the entire village.  Harry resumed his dipping and dodging, occasionally scoring a hit with his eagle's claws. Ron joined the fray, whipping at dragons with his large scorpion's tail. 

            Harry risked a glance down and saw the villagers fighting, freezing or Transfiguring the goblins and ogres. He saw with pride that the fight on the ground was slowly being won. We could use that kind of help up here, he thought to himself as he dodged two jets of fire and sank his claws into the Common Welsh Green's eyes. The Green screamed as well as a dragon can and plummeted, coincidentally crashing into Zonko's Joke Shop.

            Ron wasn't having much better luck, but he was holding his own. He had already managed to cause the Transylvanian Blood-Sucking Blues to crash into each other (over the forest, luckily) and had scored several lucky hits to the unprotected section of the Chinese Fireball's stomach. He had left it to fly around in pain as he turned to face his next victim…and found four of the remaining dragons behind him. Harry, who was in a rather nasty fight with the Hungarian Horntail and Rhode Island Rockcrusher, couldn't reach Ron in time to help as the Norwegian Ridgebacks and Swedish Short-Snouts fired four distinct jets of flame at him. Two of them missed entirely; one other scorched his lion's mane; the last one scored directly on his right wing. Ron fell screaming (in his head) to the ground.

            "RON!" Harry screamed (also in his head), turning his attention at exactly the wrong time and being hit by a glancing blow from the Horntail's tail. He screamed some more (in pain) and wheeled around, clawing at anything within reach. The Horntail, surprised that Harry was still aloft, didn't even attack as Harry's eagle claws found a small, unprotected spot on its neck. It reeled in pain and sank like a stone. Harry turned as Ron had before and found the five remaining dragons facing him, each of them working up a blast of fire. He could dodge it, true…but then what? Even a griffin with human intelligence couldn't fight off five dragons…

            "_STUPEFY_!" Harry heard twenty or thirty voices yelling as the Rhode Island Rockcrusher hit the ground. He saw the villagers, standing there with their wands raised. Quickly scanning the ground below him, he could see various objects on the ground: Transfigured goblins and ogres, he knew. The rest of them were frozen in place; one ogre was even bent over slightly with his giant fist roughly a foot away from the roof of the post office. He saw the villagers raise their wands again.

            "_STUPEFY_!" And the Norwegian Ridgebacks fell; the villagers had obviously decided amongst themselves which dragons to hit. Only the two Swedish Short-Snouts remained: Harry charged one, swiping at it before it could even react, while the villagers blasted the other. The dragon reeled slightly from Harry's attack before starting one of his own, lashing his tail at Harry almost too fast for him to dodge. Harry dropped down slightly, letting the tail pass over him, then flew up and ripped at the dragon's underbelly with his eagle's beak. It screamed as a long gash formed and managed to fly almost to the Shrieking Shack before it crashed in the mud.

            A loud cheer went up from the village as Harry flew down to where Ron had landed; crashed, really. Some villagers were there, mending his burnt wing and other bruises.

            "Are you ok, Lionheart?" Harry asked nervously as a young woman he didn't know healed the wound the Horntail had given him.

            "I'll be fine, Beaky…I'm just glad I wasn't in so much pain that I transformed back." Ron replied weakly. Harry smiled (although his eagle's head didn't really show it) and flew up again, surveying the damage. Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks had suffered some serious damage. Zonko's was completely destroyed. The post office had survived, thanks to whoever froze the ogre where he was. Random houses and smaller shops were smoking; they had been on fire, but had since been put out.  Harry turned to go back to Ron when he heard something. It was like the sound he had heard when the ogres were coming, but even heavier.

            "Now what could that be?" he wondered to himself…

(A/N: Ah, my first cliffhanger! I'd say you're going to be very surprised at what happens next…hell, so will I. I'm not sure where I'm going from here! Anyways, read and review!) 


	4. Adventures in Hogsmeade Part 2

            I own nothing, except my laptop, my Xbox, and my car…oh, and nothing to do with this story either. Except…um, some of the magic words, the secret passage, everything I claimed ownership of before, and Lumpy, the old house-elf. That having been said, enjoy!

Secrets of Hogwarts 2 Adventures in Hogsmeade Part 2 

Peering down the main street, Harry could see a large shape coming out of the forest. It slowly resolved itself into many large shapes.  Harry immediately identified them.

            "Trolls!" he telepathically yelled to Ron. "There's a huge army of trolls coming!"

            The villagers could see just as well who was coming. One of them stepped forward and raised his wand.

            "_MODISHRINKIUM_!" he yelled. A jet of orange light shot from the tip of his wand straight to the nearest troll…and incredibly enough, ricocheted off, smacking into a nearby tree in the forest and shrinking it to the size of a shrub. All the villagers stared in shock before screaming and running every which way.

            "How d'you suppose those trolls are doing that?" Ron asked from the ground.

            "No idea, Lionheart.  We've got to stop them!" Harry launched himself into the air, screeching out a loud battle cry as he headed for the troll army. The troll closest to him swung the large club he was holding. Harry dodged easily, heading straight for the troll's face with his claws extended. He was as surprised as anyone when he himself bounced off whatever protective shield the trolls had. Luckily, the troll had swung his club again, intending to crush Harry with it; when he fell, the club connected with the troll's nose and knocked him senseless (not that there was any sense to begin with, but you get the idea). Harry righted himself mid-fall and just managed to get out of the way of the collapsing troll.

            "That shield repels everything, even physical attacks!" he said to Ron, who was recovering nicely as one of the villagers healed his wing. "Now what do we do?"

            "I don't know, Beaky…wait for Dumbledore?" Harry would have smacked his forehead if doing so with his claws wouldn't slice the top of his head off.

            "Of course…I forgot that he's coming! Wait, is he coming?" Harry wheeled around in the direction of Hogwarts and spied a small group of people moving towards Hogsmeade.

            "Ok, so he is coming…with help, no less. Now how do I keep the trolls from attacking the town?"

            "Levitation?" Ron asked. Harry had a small flashback to their first year and smiled.

            "It's a good thought, Lionheart, but we can't implement it like this…and there's no saying that the spell won't bounce again." He thought and thought in despair as the trolls ranged closer. Finally, it hit him. I can't do this myself, he thought. I need someone a lot smarter than me…

            "FEATHERS!" he yelled as well as one can yell telepathically. 

            "What is it Beaky?" Hermione asked from roughly a quarter-mile off.

            "I need a way to stop an army of trolls that are magically shielded from everything, including physical attacks!" Hermione went silent for a while. Harry, rather uncharacteristically, panicked.

            "QUICKLY! They're advancing on the village!"

            "Don't rush me!" Hermione snapped. "Wait! I've got it!" She explained quickly to Harry exactly what to do. 

            "Absolutely brilliant, Feathers! Get here as soon as you can!" He turned and saw Ron right behind him.

            "You heard her too, right Lionheart?" Harry asked. Ron simply nodded agreement. 

            "Good…we have to tell the villagers what to do. Quick!" The two immediately started telepathically broadcasting Hermione's plan to the villagers.

            The trolls were coming closer, clubs raised in triumph. They knew nothing could stop them. Of course, they knew nothing at all really. Trolls are, in the wizarding world, the real-life equivalent of the expression "his brains are in his biceps": very strong and very stupid. They even laughed as well as creatures with no discernible language can laugh at the hastily assembled line of witches and wizards at the edge of town with their wands raised. Harry and Ron flew back and forth over the line, making sure every one of the villagers knew the spell they were about to cast.

            "I hope you know what you're talking about, Feathers," he thought under his breath. Ron still picked up on it.

            "When doesn't she, Beaky?" Harry gave the closest impression to grinning that he could with a beak.

            "Good point, Lionheart…Villagers!" he broadcast to the villagers. "NOW!" The villagers opened their mouths at once.

            "_TROLLICUS MARRODERMIS ENCLOSIUM RADIUS_!"

            For a second, nothing happened. Then, the ground began to rumble. Large white bones rose in front of the trolls. And behind them. And, in fact, all around them. The trolls were trapped in a circle of bones. Out of nowhere, more bones sprang from one of the vertical bones, spreading around the circle horizontally. When they were done, strips of some sort of light-greenish fabric appeared at the intersections of the horizontal and vertical bones, tying them together. 

            This of course, perplexed the trolls. It should be noted, however, that trolls are usually perplexed by the sun rising each morning. It seemed like they decided all at once that they wouldn't be fenced in by some old bones. Their clubs came down hard on the cage they were in…and bounced off.  The trolls managed to break one of the laws of nature at this point: the one stating that trolls can't get any more confused than they are on a regular basis. They just kept whacking away at their new cage and not causing a single bit of damage. Harry, Ron, and the villagers of Hogsmeade watched as they tried and tried.

            "Since I know you can't resist bragging, Feathers, and I'm dying to know anyway…how did you know that would work?" Ron asked. Hermione rolled her eyes, which was a strange expression for an owl to make.

            "Simple, Lionheart. The only creature that's as tough as an troll is another troll." The bones were troll's bones, tied together with troll skin. "Although ogre's bones may have had the same effect…they're tougher, after all…" 

            "Anyway" Ron interrupted as Hermione trailed off, "they're well restrained until we can figure out how to get them out of here, right?"

            "Correct, Mr. Weasley," said a voice that made the Marauders jump. (No small feat, considering they were all airborne.) Harry and Ron turned away from the trapped trolls and saw Hermione, gazing down in surprise at the owner of the voice: Professor Dumbledore. He simply smiled up at them, apparently also using a Telepathy Charm.

            "Quite an impressive idea, Miss Granger…oh, and you're right. Ogre's bones would have the same effect, as they are tougher than trolls." Hermione was probably smiling and blushing, but no one could tell, since she was an owl at the time.

            "I think that the four of us ought to have a talk" Dumbledore continued. "I trust you can fly back to Hogwarts and transform back without being seen?" The Marauders nodded and took off for Hogwarts. They circled around to the far end of the castle, dropping down to the ground out of sight of everyone. Quickly enough, they transformed back to their human forms.

            "Now" Harry said, rubbing his hands, "where is the closest passage into the castle?"  "Straight ahead, if I remember correctly" Ron replied, pointing to one of the Great Hall's windows. "Just under that window."

            "Right in one, Lionheart." Harry said. He pulled out his wand and counted five bricks down from the middle of the window. Tapping the brick, he said "Go Lions!"

            The brick seemed to quiver slightly and slip out of position; then, as if it was a signal, all the bricks under the window jumped to one side, opening up the passage for the Marauders. They walked through and sat down quick as the floor sloped down and away.

            The Marauders popped out in the kitchens, nearly flattening a couple of house-elves.  "Harry Potter!" a cry rang out.

            "Duck, Beaky" Ron and Hermione advised. Harry was about to comply when he was blindsided by a greenish missile with large brown eyes.  Harry groaned very loudly.

            "Hello, Dobby." 

            "Oh, Harry Potter! It is good to see you again, sir!" Dobby exclaimed. Harry winced as he got up, feeling his stomach and the back of his head where he had hit the floor.

            "It's good to see you too, Dobby. I'm sorry we can't stay…" Harry trailed off and watched smiling as Ron immediately got all the food he could carry. He was suddenly struck by a thought.

            "Dobby, who's the oldest elf here?" Dobby thought and then pointed.

            "Him, sir! That's Lumpy! He was born here, sir! His family has served the teachers and students of Hogwarts since it was founded, sir!" Harry covered Hermione's mouth before she could rant.

            "Not now, Feathers" he whispered to her. Hermione flushed but didn't say anything. Harry uncovered her mouth and walked over to Lumpy.

            "Excuse me…Lumpy, is it?" he asked. The elf responded in a voice much like Dobby's, except not as loud and reedier.

            "Indeed, sir! I is Lumpy! 'Tis a great honor to meet Harry Potter, sir!"

            "Thank you, Lumpy…now, I need to know something. Were you here when my father and his friends had the idea of pulling a prank on Professor Dumbledore?" Lumpy jumped to his feet. His old, tired eyes seemed to blaze with anger.

            "Indeed I was, sir! Never has Lumpy been so angry! Professor Dumbledore is the greatest wizard ever! No one should play tricks on him! I personally threw sir's father back to Gryffindor House, sir!" Harry smiled wide.

            "That's perfect, Lumpy. I wonder…could you do a favor for me?" The house-elf seemed to be taken aback.

            "Favor, sir? Like the favor you asked of Dobby? I won't let sir trick Professor Dumbledore again!" He raised his hands as if to use his magic.

            "No, Lumpy!" Harry said quickly. "See, we have an appointment with Professor Dumbledore, and I was wondering if you could…throw us up to his study?"

            "Are you out of your mind Beaky?" Ron and Hermione asked together (Hermione indignantly, Ron with a mouthful of pastry) Harry turned to them.

            "Well, he'd get us up there quicker than we could go ourselves, wouldn't he?" Before they could argue, he turned back. "How about it, Lumpy?"

            "For Professor Dumbledore, I will, sir!" Ron and Hermione's eyes widened in shock. That was the last thing Harry saw before landing very hard on the floor in front of the stone gargoyle that blocked the entrance to Dumbledore's study. He looked around and saw Hermione leaning against the wall for support, and Ron covered in a small layer of the food he had gotten from the house-elves.

            "I do not believe that just happened" Ron said, wide-eyed. Hermione tutted and pulled out her wand, tapping Ron's clothes clean. Then she rounded on Harry in anger.

            "Why did you do that, Beaky? Do you know where I'm going to have bruises because of that?"  "Where?" Harry and Ron asked together. Hermione blushed slightly.

            "It's not important…what's the password?" she said, focusing on the gargoyle. Ron and Harry stood up behind her. 

            "Sugar Quill?" Harry said. The gargoyle didn't move.

            "Cockroach Cluster?" Ron suggested. Nothing.

            "Um…maybe…Chocolate Frog?" Hermione said. Still nothing.

            "I believe the password you're looking for is 'Fawkes'" Dumbledore said behind them. The Marauders and the gargoyle jumped. Dumbledore simply smiled his usual smile at them.

            "Well, I can't keep using candies as my passwords, can I? People could simply keep reeling off candy names until they got lucky." He swept past them and up the stairs to his study. The Marauders simply followed him slowly, not knowing where the conversation would lead.

(A/N: This is where I've decided to stop for now. I'm still not sure whether or not they're going to be punished. Any ideas for future chapters are appreciated! Read and review!)****


	5. Surprises Abound

            I decided to wait until after the Chamber of Secrets buzz to keep writing…this is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy the surprises!

Secrets of Hogwarts 2 

**Chapter 5: Surprises Abound**

            The first thing the Marauders noticed when they entered Dumbledore's study was a large flash of light to their right.

            "Awww…another Burning Day, huh Fawkes?" Ron said. Harry turned and saw a tiny wrinkled bird emerging from the ashes of its former body. He sort of wished he could just burn up and start over fresh. Six years I've been breaking rules, he thought to himself, and I still get nervous when I'm caught. He was sure his friends were thinking the same thing. 

The three of them sat in the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. Harry was staring straight at his shoes. He didn't want to look up and possibly find that Dumbledore was disappointed in him. That in itself would have been the worst punishment he could think of. There was what seemed to be a rather large silence until Dumbledore spoke.

"I see you're still following in your father's footsteps, Harry…although you missed one. He was a prefect, you know." He smiled at the Marauders. Harry still didn't look up. Ron was the one who ended up speaking.

"We just want to be like the original Marauders, sir."  
  


"Except the part where one of us turns evil and betrays another one of us" Harry muttered to himself. A small idea popped into his head, but he kept it quiet. Dumbledore simply kept smiling at Harry's remark.

"I quite agree, Harry. I must say that I'm not surprised that you three are Animagi. I assumed you would start studying how to transform when I saw that you had used Marauder nicknames in your…shall we say, debut prank?" The Marauders grinned to themselves, remembering the moment two years before when they had pulled a prank on Dumbledore himself. It was still discussed with awe among the students of Hogwarts.

 "I must admit to a bit of spying also…I couldn't tell what your Animagus forms would be from your nicknames, so I kept a watch on the Forbidden Forest, looking for any new creatures that might be roaming around." Harry and the others seemed a bit shocked by this.

"But sir" Hermione said. "I would certainly think that you would have come down on us long before this, just for being unregistered!"

"And perhaps I should have, Hermione." Dumbledore said. "However, with Lord Voldemort (Ron flinched, but no one noticed) regaining his power, and still wanting to murder Harry, I thought it might be prudent for the three of you to be able to adopt forms that will allow you to hide better…even if they are a bit of a giveaway. I'm sure you've noticed by now that 'Beaky' also has a scar, Harry." Harry nodded.

Ron spoke up slowly, as though he'd rather not. "Does this mean, sir, that we're not in trouble?" Dumbledore's face got very serious looking. Harry's stomach dropped as he waited.

"Of course, you won't be punished for becoming Animagi, even if you're unregistered…" Harry was sure that Ron and Hermione were waiting for the rest with baited breath, just as he was. "And I think rescuing Hogsmeade from a vicious attack by evil creatures cancels out the fact that you left school grounds without permission." Three simultaneous sighs of relief could be heard.

"However, I must ask you not to leave the grounds like that again. I will have no choice but to give you a detention next time." The Marauders stood up and nodded, leaving quickly.

"You know, Beaky" Ron remarked as they headed for Gryffindor Tower, "one of the greatest perks I've seen of being your friend is that we never get in serious trouble." Harry grinned.

"Too right, Lionheart…you would think that by now, they'd know we're used to every kind of detention they can throw at us." He smiled, which was almost immediately replaced by a serious look as he remembered the thought that popped into his head in Dumbledore's office.  Ron and Hermione saw the look.

"Something wrong, Beaky?"  "Yes" Harry replied. "Let's go." He started running for Gryffindor Tower, Ron and Hermione lagging slightly. They caught up to him at the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Pearl Jam" Harry said to the portrait, which swung open. 

"I still can't believe Dean was able to persuade Professor McGonagall to use the name of a Muggle band for the password" Hermione remarked.

            "I still can't believe Dean Thomas was made a prefect" Harry replied.  "True…but Beaky, what's wrong?"

            "Not here. Let's go upstairs." The Marauders went up to Harry and Ron's dorm room. Fortunately, it was empty when they entered.

            "Ok. Remember when Lionheart said we wanted to be like the Marauders? And I said, "Except for the part where one of us turns evil and betrays another one of us?" Ron and Hermione nodded.

            "Well, it served to remind me that there's something we should have done a long time ago." He pulled out his wand, moving it in a circle instead of the regular triangle, over the Marauders crest carved into his bed. "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs."

            With a small pop, the apparitions of Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew came into view. Ron and Hermione stared in surprise. None of them had ever summoned Pettigrew before. Harry had a rather evil look on his face as he spoke.

            "Hello Marauders."

            "Hello yourself, Beaky" Sirius said. 

            "He's got a nickname?" Peter remarked. "How come I didn't know about all this?" The rest of the apparitions turned to him, just as surprised as Ron and Hermione.

            "I see you finally summoned the Rat, Beaky" James said. Remus and Sirius didn't say anything. They simply grabbed Peter and held him firmly. He was obviously shocked.

            "Moony? Padfoot? What are you doing?" They didn't answer, just held him tighter despite his struggles. James stood in front of him and pushed up the left arm of his robes.

            Everyone else flinched when they saw what was revealed: the all-too familiar skull with a serpent coming out of its mouth. The Dark Mark shone plainly on Pettigrew's arm. His eyes widened in shock.

            "J-James…n-n-n-no…it's n-n-not what you th-think, honest…"

            "Shut up." James pulled out his wand, pure hatred burning in his eyes. "Did you know that a year after we left this little gift for Harry, you sold Lily and I to Voldemort?" Peter flinched at his master's name.

            "Sirius…Remus…" His head jerked wildly from side to side, seeking help from the two of them. Sirius laughed.

            "Don't look at me, Peter. The day after Voldemort killed Lily and James, I hunted you down, and you'll never guess what happened…you managed to frame me for your murder! I admit, it was clever how you cut your own finger off and left it where you supposedly "died"…but I spent twelve years in Azkaban thanks to you." He gripped Peter's arm even tighter. 

            "And let's not forget" Remus added, "that Harry here has spent his life living with Muggles who treat him like dirt. All because you had to go and betray one of your best friends, Peter…shame, shame." He also gripped Peter tighter.  The man was positively whimpering now.

            "Please, no…" He couldn't seem to get any more words out. He just slumped in Remus and Sirius's grip as James raised his wand.

            "_AVADA KEDAVRA_!" James yelled. Remus and Sirius jumped out of the way quickly as the flash of green light hit Peter full force. He fell backwards and disappeared. 

            Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched the whole scene in minor shock.

            "I didn't think apparitions could do THAT much" Hermione whispered.  James smiled.

            "Once again, the credit goes to Lily…and speaking of which, I believe there's one more surprise in store. Beaky, look at the crest on your bed again." Harry got on his bed and peered up at the crest. A new animal replaced the spot where Peter's rat form should have been…

            "A tiger?" Harry said. Hermione, who had gotten on Harry's bed to get a better look, smiled slightly. 

            "Not exactly, Beaky. It's a tigress!" Harry was incredibly shocked, and turned to his father's apparition with the proper expression on his face.

            "That's…Mom?" James simply kept smiling.

            "Try the nickname 'Firefur'."  Harry gulped slightly and raised his wand, touching the tigress's head. "Firefur."

            There was another small pop, and a very familiar woman appeared. She smiled at the live Marauders.

            "I think I can guess which one is our son, James…" She floated over to Harry. "Hello, Harry." 

            Harry couldn't seem to find his voice. He was too choked up with emotion. Lily, of course, noticed and turned to James.

            "James, what's wrong?" James put his arm around her shoulder, and led her away a few paces. Harry watched the two of them talk. He felt a stabbing pain in his stomach when his mother shrieked; no doubt being told she's dead, he thought to himself.  That kind of thing would shock anyone, he thought as his mother sobbed on his father's shoulder.

            Behind him, Hermione tapped Ron on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear. He nodded, and the two of them walked out. Ron signaled to Remus and Sirius, and they nodded, floating down through the floor. All of them understood: the Potter family had some major catching up to do.

(A/N: Did you like the surprises? Dumbledore knowing about the Animagus forms? Peter getting destroyed, finally? Lily being a Marauder too? The password being 'Pearl Jam'? I have to take blame for that…I was listening to a new PJ song just as I was trying to think of a good password. Anyway, read and review! I'll do Chapter 6 as soon as possible…trust me, the Marauders aren't done with pranks yet!)


	6. Firefur's Plan

There's simply too much snow in Vermont in the winter. That's why I'm glad I'm moving to Arizona soon. Ok, maybe 'soon' isn't the word, as it won't be happening for roughly seven months.  Before I go, though, I'm going to take the opportunity of being covered in snow and bored to produce another chapter of the story for you guys. I can't claim any sort of inspiration for this chapter. I think the Muse that usually inspires me froze to death on the way here.  Enjoy it if you can!

Secrets of Hogwarts 2 

**Chapter 6: Firefur's Plan**

            Harry's reunion with his parents lasted all night. While Ron, Hermione, and the apparitions of Remus and Sirius tried to amuse themselves, the two male Potters regaled Lily with stories of their exploits over the past two years.  She laughed over and over at the pranks the Marauders had pulled on Snape, Draco, and Dumbledore, and shrieked in surprise and alarm when Harry demonstrated his Animagus form for her. When he changed back, Lily surprised him by assuming her Animagus form. Harry stared in shock at the tigress that replaced his mother.

            "Mom, I…I never knew!" James smiled over his wife's shoulder.

            "Well, Beaky, we found out the hard way one month that we'd need another large animal to keep Moony in line during the full moon, just in case. Padfoot got badly injured during a Quidditch match against Ravenclaw, and had to spend a week in the hospital wing. Foolishly enough, Moony and I decided to go along with the plans that we'd made. I assumed I could handle him myself, but…" He shrugged and showed Harry a scar on his neck. "Madam Pomfrey was surprised, let me tell you. She couldn't figure out where I'd gotten that scar, and I couldn't tell her."  Harry nodded and looked at his mother, who was still a tigress.  He smiled wide.

            "I suppose I'm not the only one who's noticed that the fur on her head is a little redder than the rest of her? And, of course, the green eyes." The tigress quickly shifted back to Lily.

            "You're right, Beaky…you're not. Your father was nice enough to point that out when I had mastered the transformation for the first time." She glared at James, who simply smiled that disarming smile he had that always made her melt. Harry felt sort of weird, watching his parents interact like this. Lily turned back towards Harry.

            "And it's not like his form is perfect…ever seen the slight spectacle markings around a certain large stag's eyes?" James glared and mock-dived at his wife, who simply sidestepped and laughed as he sunk into the floor. He was gone up to his knees before he remembered to stop. 

            "Anyway" Harry said as his father worked on getting out of the floor, "now we need a plan for another prank. It's only fair that all seven of us pull one off, to celebrate the return of Firefur." He smiled for a brief second before remembering something. "Of course, there is the problem of our 'prankster's block'. We haven't had a good idea for pranks since the last Quidditch match!" James, who had finally extracted himself from the floor, nodded agreement.

            "I think, Beaky, that we're not coming up with good plans because we're setting our standards too high. After that first incredible trick you pulled on Snape…" He had to stop there, because the memory was setting off a round of uncontrollable laughter from him and Harry.  Lily simply watched in mild surprise.

            "Snape's here? Severus Snape?"

            "He's…P-P-Potions mas-master" Harry choked out through his laughter. Lily nodded.

            "Makes sense…he was always so good at it.  Those tutoring sessions, though…" She flinched at the thought. "Let me tell you, he didn't have bezoars or wolfsbane on his mind at all when he was 'tutoring' me."

            "You let him tutor you?" Harry asked.

            "I didn't have a choice. Dumbledore asked him to do it, and he was only too happy to oblige." Lily seemed to cringe slightly at the thought.  James picked up on it and got angry.

            "And then, of course, was the sixth year incident…" Harry was naturally curious.

            "What did he do?" James and Lily looked at each other, seeming to debate between them whether or not to tell him. Finally, James nodded.  Lily looked to Harry.

            "He…mixed a rather powerful Infatuation Concoction. Normally, there's no harm in them. Love Potions are regulated by the Ministry because of their power, but Infatuation Concoctions aren't. It was thought that they couldn't be made powerful enough to be a problem, but Snape found a way."

            "Then" James continued, not bothering to keep the hatred out of his voice, "the slimy git found a way to sneak it into your mother's pumpkin juice." Harry's eyes widened as he began to understand.

            "So…she was…"

            "Infatuated" James said, ending his son's thought. "A very deep infatuation too, bordering on complete and total love. It made me so mad to see her, walking through the halls and hanging on his arm…and of course, he had warned her very carefully against me.  I got lucky, though. Just about the time the potion was to wear off, Snape tried to sneak more of it into your mother's drink. Luckily, Padfoot intercepted him before he could do it.  I'm still pretty much convinced that Padfoot got lucky, but I don't know for sure. Anyway, the concoction wore off, and…well, your mother wasn't happy with Severus."

            "I HATED HIM!" Lily screamed. James and Harry both jumped. "I couldn't believe what he did to me! He was lucky that he only kissed me!  If he had tried more, he would have succeeded…and after it wore off…oh, I would have killed him!"  

"You'll learn to stay away from your mother when she gets like this" James murmured to Harry. "When she's angry, she's reeeeeal angry."  Harry nodded and faced his mother, who was still seething. Her cheeks were bright red, and her hair was flying wildly around her face.

            "Firefur…uh, I mean Mom…you've been using the past tense. Does that mean you don't hate him anymore?" Lily calmed down slightly.

            "Well, of course I hate the fact that he played with my emotions like that…but eventually, I came to admire his brilliance in adapting the potion the way he did. And of course, he was a gentleman. As I mentioned before, he only kissed me, and it was usually on the cheek.  I don't know…maybe somehow, he knew that even a powerful potion couldn't override my love for a certain messy-haired idiot." She smiled sweetly at James, who merely rolled his eyes.

            "Well…now that that's all explained…what do you think we should do, Firefur? You have the honor of deciding our next prank." Lily's eyes twinkled in a way that reminded Harry very much of Professor Dumbledore at that moment.

            "I said that I admired Snape's brilliance, and his gentlemanly ways. I never said I forgave him. I was angry enough to prank him all those years ago, and I guess I still am."  James smiled and hugged his wife.

            "Wonderful…although I still think you should have let us take care of him when it happened."

            "You sort of did, dear…the way you were looking at him after the potion wore off scared him pretty good, I'd say. After all, he never tried it again." James considered and nodded.

            "Ok, that's settled…but what about the prank?" Lily grinned. 

            "We need the others for that." She floated down through the floor while James and Harry waited.

            "What do you think she's got in mind, Prongs?"

            "No clue, Beaky. I'd imagine it's something pretty good though."  After a minute or so, the rest of the Marauders came in. The kids sat on Harry's bed, and the apparitions of James, Remus, and Sirius took up positions around it. They all looked expectantly at Lily, who simply smiled.

            "Marauders, the time has come for us to pull yet another prank on Professor Severus Snape." All the Marauders brightened at the news, as none of them liked Snape. "Tonight, we're going to get into his bedroom, and then…" 

(Time jump)

            Once again, Harry found himself sneaking into the Slytherin common room, thanks to his Invisibility Cloak and the Meeting Place. Ron and Hermione were with him this time.

            It was the dead of night. The fire was still blazing in the Slytherin's fireplace, even though the common room was empty. The Marauders popped out of the wall, turning to watch the portrait of Salazar Slytherin turn back to one piece. Quietly, they walked to the fireplace. Harry tapped the lamp hanging on the left side of the mantle. "Padfoot."

            Sirius's head popped out of the flames. "Yes, I am!" Harry just rolled his eyes as the left side of the fireplace opened up. This was the way it had been all day. The apparitions had seemed to be infused with new energy since his mother had rejoined the group. They'd been laughing and joking all through the planning and preparation of the new prank. Harry felt both good and bad about it: good because he liked seeing his parents and friends happy, and bad because he knew that their living versions weren't nearly so well off. 

            In no time, the three of them were through the wall and into Snape's bedroom. Nothing had changed since Harry had first visited it two years before…especially Snape. If anything, he was a little greasier.  The apparitions were floating over his bed, laughing loud and long over how Snape looked. Harry cleared his throat.

            "Don't you think you guys should hold back on the laughing until we're done? He's going to look a lot funnier in a few minutes." The apparitions agreed, and floated back as Harry, Ron, and Hermione prepared to cast their spells.

            First, a quick "_Morpheum_" insured that Snape would stay asleep through the whole thing.  Ron used a particularly powerful spell to Transfigure Snape's pajamas (completely black, of course) into a form-fitting, bright pink dress that looked like it was designed for a thirteen-year-old girl. "I particularly like the dancing teddy bears" he remarked quietly.  Hermione, who was on makeup detail, worked long and hard to match blush, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick colors with Snape's particular skin color and tone, and then just threw it all out the window and painted his face in whatever colors she wanted.  Harry saved the best for last. First, he turned Snape's slippers into a pair of pink pumps to match the dress, right down to the dancing teddy bears.  Next, he attempted to give Snape a nice new hairstyle to match his outfit, but it just didn't work. Everyone was shocked by this.

            "I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't seeing it with my own eyes" Sirius remarked.

            "His hair is greasy enough to repel MAGIC?" Remus exclaimed.

            "Apparently" Lily replied. "Oh well, Beaky…just get on with the Confundus, ok?"

            "Right, Firefur." Harry raised his wand and spoke. "_Confundus_!" An odd, sort of confused expression crossed Snape's face. Harry knelt by Snape's side and whispered instructions quickly on how to act once he woke up. Apparently satisfied with the instructions, Snape smiled in his sleep. 

            By now, the apparitions were laughing so hard that the Marauders were afraid someone would hear them, special charm or no. They were also afraid that someone would hear them…Hermione had buried her face in Ron's shoulder long before to cover up her giggles, and Ron himself was fighting to not just bust out laughing.  Harry was laughing to himself so hard, there were tears in his eyes.  He just barely made out the stones in the wall he had to tap to get back through the secret passage. The rest of the Marauders were following him, sniggering quietly.  They made it as fast as they could back through the secret passage to the Meeting Place, then through to the Gryffindor common room.  Harry and Ron said their goodbyes as quickly as they could, ran up the stairs to their dorm, and promptly buried their heads under their pillows and laughed themselves to sleep.

(A/N: I'm really sorry. I meant to go on to the next morning here, and show you guys what Snape did…but every time I pictured it in my mind, I started laughing uncontrollably. My family now thinks I'm insane. So, it'll have to wait until I can control myself. Read and review please!)


	7. Snape gets it Again

Ok. I know it was kind of mean to leave you guys hanging like that, but like I said, I just couldn't write the rest of the prank without laughing. I'm doing my best to combat that now. I hope you enjoy!

Secrets of Hogwarts 2 

**Chapter 7: Snape gets it Again**

            When Harry and Ron woke up the next morning, they were still laughing. Dean, Seamus, and Neville were convinced that they had lost their minds. It turned out that Lavender and Parvati felt the same way about Hermione, who had apparently been giggling in her sleep.  The three of them managed to get up and dressed without raising suspicion among the remaining members of Gryffindor House.  They nearly lost it, however, when the apparitions floated through the wall by the fireplace, laughing loudly amongst themselves. They informed the rest of the Marauders that they had spent the night laughing at Snape while he slept. Harry considered this a phenomenal waste of time, but didn't bring it up.

            Upon entering the Great Hall for breakfast, the Marauders and their apparitional counterparts immediately noticed the missing seat at the teacher's table.  This nearly brought on a fresh bout of laughter, but they somehow managed to keep it down.

            Early into breakfast, it happened. Slowly and softly at first, ballet music began to play. The hubbub of voices quieted gradually as the music grew. Everyone (even seven certain mischief makers) was looking around to find the source, when the doors of the Hall swung wide open.

            It was Snape. He looked absolutely horrible. The makeup on his face had dried up somewhat over the night, and of course it didn't blend well with his face or itself. Bright green mascara with red eyeliner, dark purple blush, and bright yellow lipstick just doesn't work. And if it's all on a bright white base, like on Snape's face, the effect is even worse.  It didn't help at all either that he was widely smiling…an expression that just didn't fit on his face.  His hair lay as limp and greasy as it ever did, worsening the effect by far. The dress Ron had put on him looked as bad as it had the night before. Even the enchanted teddy bears on it seemed to be ashamed. The pink slippers Harry had added matched, but looked to be a size too small. 

            Nothing was said for several minutes. Everyone was staring at Snape, wondering if he'd lost his mind. He simply smiled his horrible smile back at all of them. Even the apparitions weren't laughing. Finally, Snape spoke up…in a high-pitched, only vaguely feminine voice.

            "Good day to you, wonderful children. Isn't it a beautiful day?" His smile increased, and he batted his eyes. An involuntary shudder swept the crowd.  Professor Dumbledore spoke up, somehow.

            "My dear Professor Snape, I don't think you're at all well." Snape simply laughed, a rather scary laugh that still managed to match his voice.

            "But who is Professor Snape, dear sir? My name is Serena! I am…" and he added a flourish that caused the dress to rise somewhat and nearly make a few students sick, "a beautiful ballet dancer!" He started dancing around the room in a terribly ungainly fashion, screaming, "I AM A PRETTY LADY!!!!!"  The pirouette he did in the middle of the Hufflepuff table caused three female students to faint, and five male students to be sick. His no-hands cartwheel onto the Ravenclaw table caused six more students to pass out.

            In retrospect, Harry thought things would have been fine if Snape had never noticed Malfoy. However, a full head of silver-blond hair is easy to pick out in a crowd of brunettes.  Snape, after righting himself on the Ravenclaw table, was facing the Slytherin table and immediately picked Draco out of the crowd. His smile somehow got wider, causing Crabbe and Goyle to scream and cover their eyes. Draco immediately assumed a "deer in the headlights" look. It was almost as if he knew what was going to happen. 

            "Catch me, darling boy!" Snape-er-"Serena" screamed, and leaped full force at Draco. Draco, who obviously wanted nothing to do with the whole thing, ducked at the last second. "Serena" sailed over his head and ran full force into the wall, knocking "herself" out.

            Roughly five seconds after Snape hit the wall, someone snickered. It escalated quicker than anyone could have imagined, swelling throughout the Great Hall. Everyone was laughing. The tables were taking serious damage from being pounded so hard by fists. There was no room to walk because half the population of Hogwarts was rolling on the floor.  Harry was certain that he'd seen Dumbledore cracking up. Of course, through the tears in his eyes, he couldn't be sure.

            Classes were cancelled that day. They had to be. Even after the laughing stopped, no one was paying attention in any class. No one would have thought it, but even Hermione wasn't paying attention.  Snape's little escapade was simply too funny. There was a line stretching throughout the halls that ended at the hospital wing, where everyone was crowding to see Snape. He and Madam Pomfrey only got peace when Dumbledore locked the door with a special charm.

            The Marauders celebrated that night, in the Meeting Place. A table from the Gryffindor common room had been brought there, and Transfigured into a marble pedestal with a prowling tiger on it (which, of course, really prowled). The pedestal had an inscription:

"For outstanding Marauding at Hogwarts: 

Lily Evans Potter

'Firefur'

The Marauders, past and present, toasted Lily that night. She was incredibly honored, and even made a small speech in which she remarked how glad she was to be a Marauder, and how happy she was to have Harry following in hers and James's footsteps. Her only complaint was toward Ron.

"Lionheart, why did you turn Snape's underwear into a pair of pink panties? That was what was making people get sick and pass out." Ron looked rather bewildered.

"I didn't."

(A/N: I actually didn't know how this prank would end. It got to the point where I thought of something so funny that I was cracking up again. I still am, as a matter of fact. Just the thought of Alan Rickman looking like Snape the way I described him is making me laugh. Well, you guys know the procedure. Review please!)


	8. Epilogue

I admit right from the start that this is basically just a quick little wrap-up of my story. However, I really wasn't sure where to go from here. Thinking up another prank to pull on Dumbledore would have required more creativity than I have at the moment, and I have a few other story ideas I'd like to start writing without worrying about how I'm going to end this one. So, to quote the Doors, this is the end. I hope you've all enjoyed my stories.

Oh, by the way, Dragonfly, about your comment about my story being either the product of a genius or a twisted mind? You're right on both counts.

Secrets of Hogwarts 2 

**Chapter 8: Epilogue**

          The Marauders, living and apparitional, continued pulling pranks of genius magnitude for the remaining years that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were at Hogwarts. They all eventually got their own pedestals in the Meeting Place, just like Lily's. Ron's pedestal was created a little after the fact, for his brilliant idea for the prank the Marauders pulled on Dumbledore.  Harry, James, and Sirius worked together in Harry's seventh year to hatch a brilliant plot against the Slytherin Quidditch team when they were tied with Gryffindor for the championship.  The point during the prank/match where Draco Malfoy burst into tears and started bawling for his mommy was a memory that made everyone present howl with laughter, even years later. That very night, pedestals to Beaky, Prongs, and Padfoot joined Lionheart and Firefur in the Meeting Place.

          Remus and Hermione, who were more studious than the rest, went about creating a prank worthy of their counterparts in a most interesting fashion. In Harry's seventh year, the two of them discovered the spells that controlled the large hourglasses that marked each House's points. The rest of the Marauders didn't see the point in this, since it was nearly the end of the year, and Gryffindor had a commanding lead anyway. Of course, they didn't know what the two had planned.

          On their last night at Hogwarts, the Great Hall was decorated in red and gold, and Dumbledore was just beginning his farewell speech, when the caretaker, Filch, rushed into the Hall screaming.  The teachers, and the Head Boy and Girl (who were, surprisingly enough, not Harry and Hermione) left to see what was the matter. Not surprisingly, everyone followed them.

          The crowd was thick, but not so thick that everybody couldn't see what was happening. The Slytherin hourglass had apparently gone berserk. Slytherin had come in second place in the House Championship, but the sand level was dropping until they were in third. Then last. Then, inexplicably, first. Up and down the sand went. Heads were bobbing up and down from watching it. It just seemed to go on and on until, without warning, the bottom of the hourglass disappeared. All the sand fell out, hit the floor, and just vanished.

          Only eight people ever knew who was responsible. One of them had no choice but to repair the hourglass and let the pranksters go free. He might have been Headmaster, but they were graduating the next day. Five of the other seven almost immediately held a celebration for the last two in the Meeting Place. Their pedestals, topped with a fearsome werewolf and a wise owl, respectively, put the finishing touches on what everyone agreed had been a great four years.

          It should be noted that the Marauder's adventures didn't end here. Lily was able to teach the kids the very charms she'd used to originally set the crests up around Hogwarts. Fifteen years later, they were put into effect, thanks to young Richard Potter and Eddie Weasley…but that's another story.

**The End.**


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